Why I'm Proud to be a "Misfit"

As Christmas grows closer, I am busy making cookies, wrapping presents, and of course, partaking in one of my all-time favorite holiday traditions. Watching Christmas movies! Starting the day after Thanksgiving I once again settle in to watch all my favorites before  December 25th  comes around again.

From modern classics like “Elf” to childhood favorites like “Frosty the Snowman”, holiday movies are one of the best parts of the entire season, and I love them all. One of my all-time favorites is the 1964 classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. Although this movie first premiered almost 3 decades before I was born, I remember anxiously waiting for it to come on TV every holiday season. I still make sure to watch it every year, but now thanks to the Internet, I don’t have to wait for it.

Growing up, I absolutely loved Rudolph. I loved the music. I loved the animation. Most of all though, I loved the story.

As a child, I felt an undeniable kinship with Rudolph. Like him, I was born different. Like him, who I was fell outside of what society considered normal. Like him, all you had to do was look at me to know there was something different about me. I loved him, because like me he was different than everyone else, and somehow that made me feel less alone. It wasn’t until recently that I realized the power of that story goes much deeper.

When I watched the movie as an adult, I understood. Watching the movie through adult eyes, it finally dawned on me why I loved and related to the character of Rudolph so much growing up. I love and connected to this movie so much because I knew what it was like to be Rudolph, and watching the story play out on the screen made me feel seen and understood in a way that I still struggle to fully articulate.

Just like us, Rudolph lives in a society that has a very specific idea of how its members are supposed to be. Rudolph’s society has a strict idea concerning what is considered normal, and anyone who falls outside of that idea is considered a problem, or in the context of the movie “a misfit.” Christmas Town, Rudolph’s home, has created a culture that ostracizes anyone who is perceived as different.

From the very moment he is born, Rudolph is bombarded with messages that say in order to succeed and in order to be accepted he must fundamentally change who he is. Santa tells Rudolph’s father that Rudolph will never be a part of the sleigh team with his nose. Therefore, his father encourages him to hide his nose and pretend to be “normal” so that he could be accepted by everybody else, and be allowed to be a part of the society.

As an adult, this part of the movie hit me particularly hard.

It was ableism staring me right in the face, and it brought back painful memories of growing up in a world that told me that in order to be accepted, loved, or successful, I had to learn to be somebody I wasn't. I remembered what it was like to want nothing more than to be just like everyone else. I remembered what it was like believing that I was the problem. I remembered believing that if I could change myself everything would be okay. I remember thinking that normal was the best way, or rather, the only way to be.

Luckily, over time I learned I was wrong and so did Rudolph.

Throughout the movie Rudolph meets other characters who are considered misfits. Other characters who live outside of the expectations of their cultures.  Other characters who don’t quite fit in. In the end, the misfits become proud of who they are, and realize it being different doesn’t have to be a problem. In fact, in Rudolph’s case, being different is the solution. Being different saves the day. Rudolph is able to do something no one else can, and he’s able to do it precisely because he was born different.

For a long time I saw my disability as a weakness, but as I have grown up I have learned to see it as a strength. It is not something I have to overcome, but rather it is something that gives me a unique perspective on the world. My disability colors every experience of my life and it enhances who I am, it does not take away from it. Like Rudolph, I have learned to do things differently by existing in a society that is not designed for me. I may not be just like everyone else, but that is okay. In fact, I prefer it.

I am proud to be a misfit. I am proud to stand out and do things differently. Being different has given me the opportunity to see the world in a different way, and I realize that my disability is not a problem. As a disabled person I have spent my life learning to do things outside the norm, and this helps me come up with creative ways to solve problems, and always remember to look at things for more than just one angle.

Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to just be normal. Now, I realize being normal is overrated. If you actually look the word normal up in the dictionary, or try to find synonyms in a thesaurus, it literally means to be average, ordinary, basic, or nothing special.

I don't know about you, but now, I aspire to be so much more than simply average. I no longer wish to claim the coveted label of “normal”, but instead I have learned to embrace everything that makes me the beautiful and unique person that I am, just like Rudolph.

 I am proud to be a misfit.

Being a misfit gives you the opportunity to see the world in a different way than everybody else around you. It allows you to think differently and understand new perspectives. Being a misfit teaches you to do things in a way that other people may never think of. Being a misfit allows you to change the way that other people think about the world by demonstrating that there is more than one way to do things, and sometimes a different approach is exactly what is needed. Being a misfit is powerful because it gives you the skills needed to make a change in the world.

Like Rudolph, I am a misfit and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Like Rudolph, I am a misfit, and there's no one else I would rather be.

[Image description: an elf with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue outfit, is shaking the hoof of Rudolph, a baby reindeer with a red nose. They are standing in snow surrounded by evergreen trees.]